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Recently, I needed to change my SAMS account to reflect new information. Now, as anyone with a SAMS card knows, you have your picture on the card. So, of course, they asked for ID before making the changes.

Can someone clarify something for me, since I swear I read this on the Visa/MC site, but then see these lovely threads....

isn't California exempt from the Visa/MC of "no ID required, and it's against the rules to ask"?

Which means, in CA, they CAN legally ask for ID.

is that correct?

California law allows merchants to ask for ID. I have posted the code here before. Don't have time to dig it up. But it's around.

The California law has no effect on the Visa/MC rules which prohibit merchants from requiring ID. All the law means is the state itself does not stand in the way of ID checks. Merchants are free to enter into contracts with Visa/MC that are more restrictive. Merchants cannot make ID a condition of acceptance. Report violation (if any) as usual to Visa/MC and the nonsense will stop.

Recently, I needed to change my SAMS account to reflect new information. Now, as anyone with a SAMS card knows, you have your picture on the card. So, of course, they asked for ID before making the changes.

Next time I'll just have them take a picture of my cat.

SAY YOU DON'T DRIVE...you get no new SAMS credit card...even when the picture on the current card matches???

I'll never understand the fuss over showing ID. It seems to me that it's just something to feel self-righteous about.

We all know the ID showing is for the sake of the merchants so they don't get porked on a CC theft case, right? Of course, the clerk making $7/hr who's ringing up your Beenie Babies could care less if it's you or your dog on the picture of the ID you hand them - the point is they make it store policy to discourage thieves from trying to use someone else's card. Whether you show ID or not, the CC company will credit back any unauthorized charges. What's in it for you to be so difficult about things? I'm usually making CC purchases when I'm billing customers so I don't have the time to stand there in line to make a point. It takes 5 seconds to show ID and who knows how long to refuse and then wait for the transaction to get voided (10 minutes, as someone else commended). If I was behind you in line, I'd want to strangle you. Show the damn ID and, even if you have no life, let the rest of us get on with ours.

I will say this one thing, though....I had my wife's debit card on me one day and they asked for ID when I tried to use it as credit. I told them it was my wife's card and would run it through as debt instead. It dawned on me that on a debit transaction they don't get charged all of the fees like they do on a credit transaction. I suppose one could say that when the merchants ask for ID, it reduces the number of CC transactions, therefore costing the store less overhead.

There's a little hardware store on the corner I go to fairly often. Store has been there for 30+ years and it's still the original owner. They charge a little more than Home Depot but if I need a fitting or some wire, I can be in and out of there in 2 minutes compared to the no-less-than-10-minute trip to Home Depot 4 miles away.

These guys have an "ID Required" policy. I don't mind, mostly because I don't have the time to stand there and make a scene when I make a CC purchase there. I also don't mind because these are good people - salt of the earth. If me showing them ID reduces their overhead (either by reducing fraudulent CC transactions or not having to pay as much in credit transaction fees) and gives them an edge to stay in business a little longer, I'll show my ID. If they close down, it's way more of an inconvenience to me than showing my ID on the infrequent occasion I buy something there with a credit card.

Is it against their merchant agreement to require ID? Sure, but IMO, that only means the MA should be modified.

I'll never understand the fuss over showing ID. It seems to me that it's just something to feel self-righteous about.

We all know the ID showing is for the sake of the merchants so they don't get porked on a CC theft case, right? Of course, the clerk making $7/hr who's ringing up your Beenie Babies could care less if it's you or your dog on the picture of the ID you hand them - the point is they make it store policy to discourage thieves from trying to use someone else's card. Whether you show ID or not, the CC company will credit back any unauthorized charges. What's in it for you to be so difficult about things? I'm usually making CC purchases when I'm billing customers so I don't have the time to stand there in line to make a point. It takes 5 seconds to show ID and who knows how long to refuse and then wait for the transaction to get voided (10 minutes, as someone else commended). If I was behind you in line, I'd want to strangle you. Show the damn ID and, even if you have no life, let the rest of us get on with ours.

I will say this one thing, though....I had my wife's debit card on me one day and they asked for ID when I tried to use it as credit. I told them it was my wife's card and would run it through as debt instead. It dawned on me that on a debit transaction they don't get charged all of the fees like they do on a credit transaction. I suppose one could say that when the merchants ask for ID, it reduces the number of CC transactions, therefore costing the store less overhead.

There's a little hardware store on the corner I go to fairly often. Store has been there for 30+ years and it's still the original owner. They charge a little more than Home Depot but if I need a fitting or some wire, I can be in and out of there in 2 minutes compared to the no-less-than-10-minute trip to Home Depot 4 miles away.

These guys have an "ID Required" policy. I don't mind, mostly because I don't have the time to stand there and make a scene when I make a CC purchase there. I also don't mind because these are good people - salt of the earth. If me showing them ID reduces their overhead (either by reducing fraudulent CC transactions or not having to pay as much in credit transaction fees) and gives them an edge to stay in business a little longer, I'll show my ID. If they close down, it's way more of an inconvenience to me than showing my ID on the infrequent occasion I buy something there with a credit card.

Is it against their merchant agreement to require ID? Sure, but IMO, that only means the MA should be modified.

I HAVE TO PROVE I DIDN'T THEFT THE CARD THAT HAS MY NAME AND SIGNATURE ON IT???

My DRIVERS LICENCE (a permit to drive a car/truck) NOT A CREDIT CARD USE PERMIT was signed 15 or 20 years ago

Every single credit card I have was signed in the past 3 years...WHAT HAS THE "MOST" ACCURATE SIGNATURE???

I will say this one thing, though....I had my wife's debit card on me one day and they asked for ID when I tried to use it as credit. I told them it was my wife's card and would run it through as debt instead. It dawned on me that on a debit transaction they don't get charged all of the fees like they do on a credit transaction. I suppose one could say that when the merchants ask for ID, it reduces the number of CC transactions, therefore costing the store less overhead.

Debit usually costs more to the merchant.

Debit cards (WITHOUT a logo) do not usually have the cardholders name on them. Asking for ID would be pointless. Debit also forces the consumer to be liable for 100% of charges. There are no charge backs to the merchant.

Credit cards offer zero liability - $50 liability for the consumer. The merchant is nearly always charged back. The merchant believes they are covering their tush by asking for ID.

As someone with YEARS in retail, cashiers are not usually *told* to ask for ID. They do it on their own because they are misinformed. They are always asked for ID, so they believe it is what they're supposed to do.

So Im guessing everyone asks for my ID, because on the back of my cards, I wrote "ASK FOR ID".

...which is also a violation of your AUP. The cards are not valid unless they're signed (and I think they even say this on the card).

This, I actually agree with, but I'd prefer if the merchants would check the signatures on my card against the sales slip. If they ask for ID, it would be nice if they compared the signature there as well.

Of course, they never do this, but that's the reason for signing the cards.

I don't understand why this issue is worth fighting for. Wouldn't our time and energy be more wisely used fighting to bring CA's and CRA's into compliance with the law, and fighting to change the laws to make them fairer to consumers?

How does asking for ID cause any tragedies? How is it more tragic than a can of beans falling off a supermarket shelf and causing a customer to trip and almost fall?

Shall we write letters to our soldiers in Iraq, telling them while they're fighting for whatever they're fighting for, we're fighting at home too, for freedom to use our credit cards without ID?

Debit cards (WITHOUT a logo) do not usually have the cardholders name on them. Asking for ID would be pointless. Debit also forces the consumer to be liable for 100% of charges. There are no charge backs to the merchant.

Credit cards offer zero liability - $50 liability for the consumer. The merchant is nearly always charged back. The merchant believes they are covering their tush by asking for ID.

As someone with YEARS in retail, cashiers are not usually *told* to ask for ID. They do it on their own because they are misinformed. They are always asked for ID, so they believe it is what they're supposed to do.

Incorrect on all counts.

Debit usually costs the merchant nothing except for the equipment used to process the transaction.

Debit cards do not exist without a logo. A card without a logo is an ATM card, but in any case other than a temporary card (with the ability to make the cards on-site, I haven't seen one of these in forever), if it was issued against a bank account it will have the cardholders name on it.

*Most* credit cards offer zero liability to the consumer. I can't speak from experience on the merchant's liability if they accept a stolen CC, but my understanding is the merchant takes it in the shorts, at least partially.

Finally, I've seen signs posted at quite a few stores saying ID is required. I doubt the cashiers made these signs themselves without the store's endorsement.

Debit cards (WITHOUT a logo) do not usually have the cardholders name on them. Asking for ID would be pointless. Debit also forces the consumer to be liable for 100% of charges. There are no charge backs to the merchant.

Credit cards offer zero liability - $50 liability for the consumer. The merchant is nearly always charged back. The merchant believes they are covering their tush by asking for ID.

As someone with YEARS in retail, cashiers are not usually *told* to ask for ID. They do it on their own because they are misinformed. They are always asked for ID, so they believe it is what they're supposed to do.

Incorrect on all counts.

Debit usually costs the merchant nothing except for the equipment used to process the transaction.

Debit cards do not exist without a logo. A card without a logo is an ATM card, but in any case other than a temporary card, if it was issued against a bank account it will have the cardholders name on it.

*Most* credit cards offer zero liability to the consumer. I can't speak from experience on the merchant's liability if they accept a stolen CC, but my understanding is the merchant takes it in the shorts, at least partially.

Finally, I've seen signs posted at quite a few stores saying ID is required. I doubt the cashiers made these signs themselves without the store's endorsement.

My fathers wife refuses to accept debit in her business due to fees.The place I work at won't accept debit unless it is from B of A, because they aren't charged anything for those transactions. They are charged by B of A for other banks fees. Maybe it's only small business owners.

I have 3 "debit" cards - w/o logos - none of them have my name on them. They have the banks name and the card number. 2 were given to me at the time of opening the account and the other came in the mail. Newest one is about a year.

Consumer liability is limited to $50. If your card is stolen and used you are only responsible for $50 at the most. Say I stole a credit card, used it at Best Buy and bought myself the Nikon D3 with the optional pack (about a $3500 purchase). Visa/MC/AMEX/Discover do not eat the $3450 because the merchant accepted a stolen credit card. They're going to tell the merchant to pay it. I worked in LP at IKEA. I taught classes for the cashiers about this whole process...

I also said that *USUALLY* the cashiers create the policy themselves. In no way did I even insinuate it was always the cashier who does it.

I don't understand why this issue is worth fighting for. Wouldn't our time and energy be more wisely used fighting to bring CA's and CRA's into compliance with the law, and fighting to change the laws to make them fairer to consumers?

How does asking for ID cause any tragedies? How is it more tragic than a can of beans falling off a supermarket shelf and causing a customer to trip and almost fall?

Shall we write letters to our soldiers in Iraq, telling them while they're fighting for whatever they're fighting for, we're fighting at home too, for freedom to use our credit cards without ID?

My only contact with CA's is wrong numbers (LIKE 15 or 20 years worth) ON AND OFF

Most consumers have zero liability when paying with a credit card, so the prevent fraud - for your own good BS is meaningless. As a consumer using a credit card I'm more worried about the cashier memorizing my driver's license and perpetuating some sort of fraud than I am about some one stealing my card and using it without my knowledge. Merchants agree to the terms. If they don't like the terms or are concerned about their own personal liability they shouldn't accept credit cards. Signing the card and refusing to show ID is the best way to protect you from fraud.

Indeed it is a major security and identity theft risk, extreme invasion of privacy, and a no-brainer to keep your ID to yourself.

Those of you who write "See I.D." or some variant on your card - be careful.

I read on these boards about someone who had their card stolen. The credit card company recovered the card - and they told her it was good that she'd signed it, because if it had "See I.D." on the signature panel, it would not have been considered a valid, signed card, and she would have been liable for all the fraudulent charges.

Most consumers have zero liability when paying with a credit card, so the prevent fraud - for your own good BS is meaningless. As a consumer using a credit card I'm more worried about the cashier memorizing my driver's license and perpetuating some sort of fraud than I am about some one stealing my card and using it without my knowledge. Merchants agree to the terms. If they don't like the terms or are concerned about their own personal liability they shouldn't accept credit cards. Signing the card and refusing to show ID is the best way to protect you from fraud.

Indeed it is a major security and identity theft risk, extreme invasion of privacy, and a no-brainer to keep your ID to yourself.

Even if the cashier doesn't THEFT anything from your house (LIKE THE $3,000 TV YOU JUST BOUGHT)...he/she may let it slip to a friend that "MAY" come for a visit

Those of you who write "See I.D." or some variant on your card - be careful.

I read on these boards about someone who had their card stolen. The credit card company recovered the card - and they told her it was good that she'd signed it, because if it had "See I.D." on the signature panel, it would not have been considered a valid, signed card, and she would have been liable for all the fraudulent charges.

Those of you who write "See I.D." or some variant on your card - be careful.

I read on these boards about someone who had their card stolen. The credit card company recovered the card - and they told her it was good that she'd signed it, because if it had "See I.D." on the signature panel, it would not have been considered a valid, signed card, and she would have been liable for all the fraudulent charges.

The way I see it...I have "Ask for ID" because when someone asks to see my credit card when I choose 'credit', they look at the front, then look at the back. They are looking for my sig. If my sig is there, they proceed with the transaction. This JUST happened to me earlier today. Chick looked at my card, saw the Ask for ID, then asked me for my ID. If my sig was there, nothing else would have happened. What, do you think they actually compare freakin signatures?? Even if they do, they arent handwriting analysts.